Using B Analytics to Discover Best Practices

Frank Carpenito, CEO of Dancing Deer Baking Company

Case Study

Why did Dancing Deer first take the B Impact Assessment?

What matters most to your company?

Having a strong balance between what we deliver to the marketplace and the impact our products have on the world.

What did you learn by taking the Assessment?

We entered the Assessment with the notion that we had a tremendous impact as a corporate citizen. The Assessment revealed to us that we were engaged in many positive practices but that there was much room for improvement in almost every area we were being scored on. First, we needed to take a look at our suppliers. What were their practices and did their practices reflect our values? Second, we had always had progressive policies like allowing our employees to take time off for community service. But we never "facilitated" this type of involvement. Rather we just hoped that they would do it on their own. This was not a bad practice, but the Assessment made us realize that we can bring those service opportunities to our employees in our facilities instead of leaving them to find them on their own.

What did you do as a result of taking the Assessment?

A whole bunch of things: We now provide a benefit where each employee can have a "health advocate" - this person is a health care professional that can help them navigate the dozens of conversations with hospitals, clinics, and insurance companies. We also offered 4 hours of paid time off for employees to volunteer, launched our first non-GMO cookie line, and incorporated as a benefit corporation to make sure that we have additional legal rights to maintain our expanded mission.